Track retaining means for slidable screen panels



M. TUCKER Jan. 26, 1965 TRACK RETAINING MEANS FOR SLIDABLE SCREEN PANELS Filed June 24, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. MORTON TUCKER BY Q ATTORNEY FIG.4

Jan. 26, 1965 M. TUCKER 3,157,112

TRACK RETAINING MEANS FOR SLIDABLE SCREEN PANELS Filed June 24, 1963 2 heets-shee 2 INVENTOR. MORTON TUCKER FIG.6

5 4w 2 M. Af

6 2 7 43 w M B 2 2 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,167,112 TRACK RETAEQEIIG MEANS F012 SLIDABLE SCREEN PANELS Morton Tucker, 1395 E. 11th Ave, HiaieaEFla. Fitted June 24, 1963,.Ser. No. 289,860 1 Claim. (El. 160-363) This invention relates to door closures and particularly to a sliding screen panel that is disposed in juxtaposed relation to sliding glass doors.

The invention has for its purpose to provide a roller supported screen panel that has traverse engagement upon a fixed trackway that is disposed across the bottom of a wall opening and whereby the panel may be shifted with respect to the glass doors and. to cover and uncover the opening that would be normally formed by shifting one of the glass doors to an open position.

Sliding screen panels are well known in the art and have been disposed in juxta-posed relation to glass doors and, due to the extremely light weight of the screen panel, it frequently happens that in moving the screen panel upon the track-way, one of its ends may be tilted upwardly to an extent that would disengage its supporting roller from the trackway since the screen panel is not sufiiciently heavy to maintain the rollers upon the track and means have been provided and that constitutes this invention whereby the opposite ends of the panel are adequately anchored to the trachway to prevent such raising action.

The invention contemplates a pair of adjustable plate devices disposed at each end of the panel that will have a hooking engagement with a lateral shoulder formed upon the trackway and whereby the ends of the panel cannot be elevated to any appreciable extent that would disengage the rollers.

Novel features of construction and operation of the device will be more clearly apparentduring the course of the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein has been illustrated a referred form of the device and wherein like characters of reference are employed to denote like parts throughout the several figures.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a frame device commonly employed to support sliding closure devices in a wall opening,

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary end elevation of a screen panel device constructed in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2,

l IGURiE. 4 is a side elevation of the screen panel and its supporting trackway and with parts broken away for purpose of illustration,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of a latch device employed to retain the screen panel in a fixed position within a main frame,

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a locking plate carried by the opposite ends of the screen panel,

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially on line 7-7 of FIGURE 4, and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially on line 8-8 of 'FIGURE 4.

Referring specifically to the drawings, there has been provided a main wall frame 5 that supports sliding glass doors 6 and a sliding screen panel 7. The screen panel 7 is disposed in a juxta-posed sliding relation to the glass doors 6 in a well known manner. The frame 5 at its bottom is provided with a sill 8 that is fixed to the floor area across the opening for the frame 5. The sill 8 carries trackways of well known construction for the glass door 6 and also carries an upstanding track 9 for the screen panel 7. The track 9 is provided with a rounded nose 10 that terminates in a shoulder 11 and with the rounded nose 10 conforming to grooves 12, formed in track rollers 13.

The track rollers 13 are arranged adjacent the opposite ends of the screen panel 7 and are disposed in a channel 14 of a base rail 15. The base rail 15 is rigidly connected at its opposite ends by screws 16 to vertical styles 17. The means for connecting the base rail 15 to the style 17 is of well known construction and the base rail 15 has abutting engagement with extruded inwardly directed ribs 18 that are formed on the inner Walls of the styles 17. The styles 17 are connected in a similar manner to a head rail not shown, and the several rails are grooved to receive insect screening 19 by conventional splines 20.

The rollers 13 are provided with hubs 21, provided with bushings 22 and a bolt or shaft 23 extends through the bushing and through slots 24 formed in the side walls of the base rail 15. The shaft 23 is provided with a head 25 and a nut 26 is threaded upon the opposite end and whereby the rollers may be vertically adjusted with respect to the base rail 15.

Fittingly engaged into the lower ends of the styles 17 and to have abutting and sliding engagement against an end wall 17', are locking plates 27. The locking plates 27 are preferably molded of a suitable plastic material and the plates 27 have fiat sides 28 that engage the end walls 17 and held against such end wall for sliding movement by extruded ribs 29. The plates 27 are operable in both ends of the panel 7. Each of the plates 27 are provided with a hook nose 30 that are adapted to engage beneath the shoulder 1-1 of the track 9. The plates 27 are adjustable vertically within a channel 31 formed by the end walls 17' and the ribs 29. This vertical adjustment is permitted by a clamping screw 32, that extends through a slot 33 that is stamped inwardly from the end walls 17. The head of the screw 32 is flush with the face of the wall 17 and the marginal edges of the slot are beveled so as to permit the screw to be in .fiush relation without interfering with the full closure of the door. The stamping of the slot 32 is inwardly from the end walls 17 and the plate 27 is slotted at 34 to override the inwardly beveled edges of the slot.

In the use of the device, with the panel in fully assembled relation and with the screening 19 in splined relation, the plates 27 are inserted upwardly through the channel 3-1 and the screw 32 inserted through the slot 33 to engage a self-threading opening 35 formed in the base of the grooves 34. The rollers being assembled, the panel is disposed upon the track 9 and with the hook nose 30 engaging beneath the shoulder 11, the rollers '13 are then adjusted vertically by the shafts 23 to elevate the door to a required position above the sill 8. The plates 27 are then vertically adjusted at each end of the panel so that the nose portions 30 have a slight clearance with the shoulder 11 in which position, the screws 32 are set to clamp the plate 27 in the desired position. Now, the door may be shifted from end to end upon the track 9 and at any particular speed without danger of tilting the door that might cause the rollers 13 to disengage the trackway, such being the purpose of this invention. The screen panel is entirely free to move along the track 9 and the hooks of the plates 27 permit of such movement without binding or retarding the door in its movement. If found desirable, a suitable weather strip 36 may be anchored into a groove 37 that is extruded upon one side wall of the rail '15 and with the weather strip being biased toward the leg of the rail 9, thus preventing crawling insects from entering through that portion of the closure as covered by the panel 7.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction shown, but that changes are contemplated as readily fall within the spirit of the invention as shall be determined by the scope of the subjoined claim.

I claim:

The combination of a shiftable screen door panel that embodies a sill rail and end jamb members, the jamb members being channeled and the sill member being channeled, rollers disposed within the channel of the sill and extending downwardly to engage a track'way, the trackway being fixed with respect to a rigid wall frame and with the traclcway at its upper edge being laterally shouldered, each of the jamb members being provided with inwardly extending ribs upon opposite side walls, the ribs being spaced from an end wall of the jambs to form a vertical channel, plates at each end of the frame being vertically slidable in the last named channels, the plates adapted to be extended downwardly to a point below the head of the rail, the plates at their lower ends being shaped to form a hook that slidably engages the shoulder of the trackway, each plate being grooved upon its pposite faces whereby the plates may be used at either end of the frame, each end wall of the jambs being stamped inwardly to form a beveled slot and with the stamping of the slot provided with an inwardly extending rib that engages within an adjacent groove of the plates and a screw device extending through the slot to engage an opening formed in the plates and with the screw having a beveled head for seating engagement within the beveled slot, the said plates being adjustable downwardly to have hooked engagement beneath the shoulder of the tracleway and whereby to prevent the lifting of either end of the screen panel to an extent that would disengage the rollers from the trackway.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 809,695 1/06 Keil 16-98 2,913,046 11/59 Sharp et a1. 160-91 2,931,434 4/60 Steel 160-91 2,950,756 8/ Moloney -91 3,033,285 5/62 Banner 160-363 3,060,524 10/ 62 Tucker 16-105 XR HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. 

